Diary of a Professional Optimist+ chaos

34 entries · whenever I feel like it

A guide to building a business without losing yoursanity (or your health insurance).

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Table of contents

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  1. 34June 4/Letter. Brochure. Battle.I had prepared emotionally for a reckoning. Instead they sent me a brochure.June 4, 2026
  2. 33June 2/Plumber. Stack. Bridge.I fixed the printer. I told myself it was goodwill. Anja said: 'You fixed the printer, didn't you.' Not a question.June 2, 2026
  3. 32May 31/Digital Architect. Metadata. Surgeon.I spent the first day deleting 4,700 duplicate JPEGs and renaming folders called 'FINAL_export_USE THIS ONE_v3_ACTUALLY_FINAL.psd'.May 31, 2026
  4. 31May 29/Stationery. Infrastructure. Electricity.She was not critical. She was, in her words, providing reality-based feedback. It stings because the math is so aggressively correct.May 29, 2026
  5. 30May 27/Loop. Double Agent. Breakroom.I am currently failing at being an employee and failing at being a solopreneur simultaneously. The technical term for this is Tuesday.May 27, 2026
  6. 29May 25/Nil Return. Phantom. Included.I've developed a phantom need to file something. Just to raise my hand and say: I am here, I am operational, please note my presence.May 25, 2026
  7. 28May 23/Directions. Expert. Map.For the first time in a long time, I was the person someone turned to for directions instead of the one standing on the pavement squinting at a screen.May 23, 2026
  8. 27May 21/One Visitor. Font. Seniors.I have had exactly one visitor to my website: my mother. She called to report that the font is 'a bit small for reading.'May 21, 2026
  9. 26May 19/Nightmare. Disclaimer. Hypochondriac.I woke at 3am and checked my email signature on my phone. No Impressum. The Impressum is now live. I feel simultaneously safer and more exposed.May 19, 2026
  10. 25May 17/Website. Dashboard. Gullible.The corporate world is a terrifying and gullible simulation. I could tell Marcus I'm building a distributed cognition framework and he would ask if it integrates with Q3 reporting.May 17, 2026

"Klaus suggested I start a newsletter. Thorsten has 4,500 subscribers. I have 203. Help me close the gap."

The race

203

The Clean Slate

4,500

Thorsten Kahl

5%4,297 behind